On Wednesday, November 1st, the Dakota School Board hosted a community focus group session at the Dakota High School cafeteria beginning at 7:00 p.m.  The purpose of the community focus group session is for the Dakota School Board to engage community members in the direction of the district. Twenty-six community members participated. 

The evening began with Colette Binger, Board President, welcoming community members and introducing the other members of the Dakota School Board.  Following that, Superintendent Bob Prusator shared  information regarding the Board's vision for the future of Dakota CUSD #201 and the trends that are impacting the future.  Additionally, Mr. Prusator shared demographic, financial, facility, and programming information about the district.

Following the presentation, community members were randomly assigned to several small groups where they were asked to respond to questions regarding the district's future. Several administrators and teachers facilitated the small group sessions. The questions focused on identifying ways for the district to keep Dakota proud and determining what challenges the district needs to meet to make Dakota more proud. A board member was present in each small group to listen to community members perspectives on the district's future.  After that was completed, all community members reported back  to the cafeteria to share the highlights of each group's discussion.   The school board will take feedback from the session in assisting them in making decisions about the district's future.  The Dakota School Board appreciated the feedback and discussions from community members.

Dakota Earns “Top 100 School Districts in Illinois” Designation

Dakota CUSD #201 was recently recognized as one of top 100 school districts in Illinois in the “NICHE 2017 Best School Districts in Illinois” rankings.  Dakota CUSD #201 was ranked 67^th.  NICHE is a website that helps families discover schools and communities that are a good match for them and their children. NICHE rigorously analyzes dozens of public data sets and millions of reviews to produce comprehensive rankings, report cards, and profiles for every K-12 school, college, and neighborhood in the U.S.  Dakota CUSD #201 is extremely proud of the commitment that staff, parents and the community make in supporting its students and are pleased to be ranked among the best school districts in Illinois.  Additional information on the NICHE rankings can be found at https://www.niche.com/k12/rankings/public-school-districts/best-overall/s/illinois/. 

Check out the Activities Calendar on this site.  This easy-to-use tool:

• provides up-to-date school activities and events
• allows you to view and print a daily, weekly or monthly list of calendar events
• includes a search option to find a specific event
• sends you e-mail reminders for events you select

Using the calendar is easy!

1. Click on the “Sign In now for FREE event reminders” and choose “Sign Up NOW” to complete the registration screen.
2. Select “Edit Reminder Preferences”

• Specify how many days in advance you want to receive reminders for specific events.
• Indicate if you also want weekly event reminders and choose the appropriate organizations and categories.  To select more than one, Ctrl/Left Click on each selection.
• Click the update button to complete the process.  This will take you to the “My Clipped Events” screen.

3. To clip specific events:

• Select “Browse the Calendar”
• Select the event(s)
• Select “Clip Selected Events” to update

Go to “my Clipped Events” at any time to change your preferences.  Click on the “update” button each time you make a change.

Using the search function:

To find a specific event, type the keyword (basketball, for example) in the Keyword Search and you will only see those events.  The Advanced Search allows you to choose from a list of specific organizations, categories, dates and locations.

Printing the calendar

Select the day, week, or month you want to print and then click on Print Month View.  Select File and then Print, or click on the printer icon on the toolbar.

If you click on Month at a Glance, you will see a traditional monthly calendar. To print, simply select File and then Print, or click on the printer icon on the toolbar.

Printing Different Calendar Views

You can create different calendar views by defining your criteria.  Click on Month at a Glance.  Choose the organization and category you want to view and click on GO.  You now have a new calendar view and can print it using the same steps outlined above.

That’s it.  You’re now ready to use the calendar – and you’ll never have to worry about missing another practice, parent teacher conference or band concert!

Did you know there is a way to make sure you are always in the know when it comes to special announcements, schedule changes, and school closings at your school?

How?  Sign up to receive News Update/s.

At the bottom of the front page of our web site, or on the left side of this page, enter your email address under "Sign up for News Update".

When you put in your e-mail address, you will receive a reply.  You must respond in order to be placed on our e-mail list.   Whenever there is a special announcement or update, an e-mail will be sent with the information.  

The News Update will also be used to draw attention to new items on our web site so periodically you will receive an e-mail with headline news in it. (We promise not to flood your e-mail inbox and we won't give out your e-mail address to anyone!)

Sign up today and be 'IN THE KNOW'